With the average Aussie household throwing out more than $2000 a year in food , Julia Ostro is helping home cooks rethink their way around the kitchen. The Melbourne chef and mum-of-two is on a mission to help save homemakers thousands, with some simple time and food saving hacks. “I grew up in a frugal home where using what you have in the fridge was always at the forefront,” Julia tells 7Life of how her passion for cooking began.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today “It is about cooking something really nice using nothing really special.” With three cookbooks under her apron, the chef is a home cook at heart. And, with two young boys, she understands the demands of a time-poor family with varying taste or dietary requirements.
Julia says the last thing on working parents’ minds is coming home at 5.30pm and scrounging the pantry for ingredients to throw together an elaborate meal in just one hour. She confesses the hardest part is often conjuring the idea of what to cook.
“Meal prep!” Julia urges. “Create these flavour bombs in advance and have them already sitting in your fridge ready to go, last minute.” The author wants you to discard the traditional idea of meal prepping and eating the same meal every day of the week.
Instead, she recommends filling your fridge with tasty homemade dressings, marinades and prepped legumes and grains. Simple, fast and versatile sauces, such as teriyaki and honey soy, leave flexibility to add to your protein or.